EnGenius XtraRange ESR750H Dual-Band Wireless-N Router Review

EnGenius ESR750H XtraRange Dual-Band Wireless-N Router

Today we take a look at the EnGenius ESR750H XtraRange Dual-Band Wireless-N router. The ESR750H is designed to be heavy on features and amenities for long-range wireless use. Priced at $99.99 online from vendors such as Amazon and Newegg, this wireless router looks to fill the need for those looking for a capable and fast router without breaking the bank. While the EnGenius router isn’t one to feature Wireless-AC – or 802.11ac – the latest wireless technology allowing for gigabyte speeds wirelessly.

The EnGenius ESR750H is actually a dual-band router that will theoretically run at speeds up to 750MHz. The router has 4 Gigabit ports with an additional Gigabit WAN port for fast file transfer and internet access. Along with a built-in USB port for additional storage or a printer, EnGenius has given this router 4 different ways for your guest to access you network as well. Users can enable up to four separate and discrete SSIDs. This gives family members or office workers the ability to offer visitors Internet access or access to specific devices, like printers, while protecting other computers and peripherals on the network.

This smart router also employs intelligent QoS (Quality of Service) to prioritize bandwidth-intensive applications like HD video and gaming or bandwidth sensitive applications like VoIP (Voice over IP) telephone calls for optimal connectivity.

If you don’t know too much about EnGenius Technologies, Inc. don’t feel too bad (neither did I). EnGenius is a fairly new company created in 1999 under the umbrella of Senao Networks in Taiwan. The majority of Sanao’s business centers mostly around its RF communications products but they have been an OEM partner to many leading manufacturers in the WLAN and WBX network markets.

With its dual external antenna, the ESR750H is physically much smaller than our previously reviewed Netgear R6300 that we consider our ‘gold standard’ in routers. The cost of the ESR750H is a lot easier to swallow for those not needing the latest and greatest technology, however.

On paper, this router looks to have everything you could ask for in a sub-$100 router for your home or small office.

EnGenius ESR750H Featured Specifications:

Frequency Band

2.400~2.484 GHz (11b/11g/11n) and 5GHz (11a/11n)

Modulation Technology

OFDM: BPSK, QPSK, 16-QAM, 64-QAM

BPSK, DQPSK, CCK

Operation Channels

11 for North America, 13 for Europe, 14 for Japan

Receive Sensitivity

(Optimal) -90 dBm

Available Transmit Power (Optimal) 20dBm

Antennas

Detachable external 5 dBi antennas and 3 internal 3.5dBi antennas

Firewall

Block ICMP

SPI (Static Packet Inspection)

DoS Attack Blocking

Rule Based (IP Address Ranges, Port Ranges & Schedule)

DMZ (Demilitarized Zone) Host Support

VPN

L2TP & PPTP VPN tunneling

VPN pass-through (PPTP, L2TP, IPSEC)

Wireless Security

WPA

WPA2

802.1x Authenticator

Hide SSID in beacons

WPS

Auto Channel Selection

QoS WMM

Dimensions: 12 1/8” (30cm) x 9 1/8” (23cm) x 3” (7.6cm)

Weight: 1.5 lbs (0.7 kg)

Warranty 1 year

EnGenius has a large catalog of home networking routers (that you can see below). The router that we are reviewing today, the ESR750H, is considered Engenius’ Flagship model.

Well enough about what this router should be able to do, let’s set up the router and take a look at how it performs in the real world!